Police chief urges MIT members to surrender

BINTANGNEWS.com –National Police chief
Gen. Tito Karnavian has called on members of the East Indonesia Mujahidin (MIT­)
terrorist group — formerly led by Santoso, aka Abu Wardah, who was killed in a
shootout in Poso, Central Sulawesi, in July — to leave their hideouts and
surrender.

“We hope they can
leave their strongholds just like Basri. For what are they carrying out
activities harmful both to themselves and society?” he said as quoted byAntaranews
agency on the sidelines of the inauguration of a facility at Said Sukanto
Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, on Tuesday.

Tito was referring to
the group’s second-in-command Basri, alias Bagong.

On Monday morning,
Operation Tinombala task force personnel and MIT members shot at one another in
Tombua plantation areas in Tangkura village, South Poso Pesisir, Central Sulawesi.
A terror suspect identified as Adji Pandu Suwotomo, alias Sobron, died in the
incident. He previously managed to escape when Tinombala personnel arrested
Basri and his wife Nurmi Usman, alias Oma, in a raid on Sept. 14.

Tito said Operation
Tinombala would continue to pursue Poso terror suspects for the next
one-and-a-half months.

Operation Tinombala
task force commander Brig. Gen. Rudy Sufahriadi previously said that only 11
MIT members remained at large.***